A group of active and engaged — and fed-up — residents of Coral Gables has sent out an email blast endorsing Ariel Fernandez in the city election, calling his opponent the “developer’s insider.”
Attorney Alex Bucelo, who lost a bid two years ago to Commissioner Kirk Menendez, has the development and real estate investment money in his campaign account and his political action committee to back up the claim.
Plus the fact that Bucelo — and also Ivette Arango O’Doski — is being pushed hard by Mayor Vince Lago and the other two commissioners doesn’t sit well with activist residents who don’t like the direction the Gables is heading and feel that development is out of control.
“The current and former elected officials who are turning the Gables into Brickell 2.0 and are endorsing Alex Bucelo have only one goal: Keep their Developer-Friends happy,” says an email blast from Gables Neighbors United, sent to 21,000 Gables residents over the weekend, according to chairwoman Sue Kawalerski, who is also president of the Coral Gables Neighbors Association.
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The subject line is “Naked, Dirty and Afraid.” And that part was the “naked truth.”
The dirty tricks are the negative and false attack ads run by the Bucelo campaign.
“Just like on the national level they are telling lies about the opponent….the true local champion for residents, calling him a ‘socialist,’ saying he’s for developers when he hasn’t taken a dime from them and even threatening him from the highest offices in City Hall! Aren’t you sick of these people, their perverted tactics, and their LIES?”
Negative ads don’t always work in Coral Gables, where a majority of the voters are more sophisticated than in other places where that red scare works well. The fact that they are paid for by dark money funded political action committees with no clear way to follow the money makes it worse.
But it also shows that the Bucelo camp feels threatened by the grassroots campaign that Fernandez has waged.
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“The smear campaigns are clear signs they are AFRAID. AFRAID their developer-puppet-candidate will lose to the only candidate who will continue to expose what’s really happening at City Hall and keep residents informed,” the email says,
“You only have to look at who they associate with to figure out who they will favor,” it says. The Anglo version of “dime on quien andas y te dire quien eres.” The email blast calls Fernandez the “residents’ insider.”
Fernandez publishes a website called the Gables Insider that often covers the political shenanigans in the City Beautiful. Unlike Political Cortadito, he also has restaurant reviews, feature stories and Canes football.
The PAC has not made any recommendation in the Group 4 race. Kawalerski, the chairperson of the PAC and president of the Coral Gables Neighbors Association, said that the group was set to meet with Melissa Castro this week. But for sure they will not endorse Arango O’Doski.
“She’s a puppet being put there by all the developers,” Kawalerski said.
That group also has Jackson “Rip” Holmes and Sean Patrick McGrover running but the best they can do is force a runoff, and it’s unlikely.
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